Georgia football: Keys to Bulldogs' win at Kentucky

Washaun Ealey. The Georgia sophomore had a record-breaking performance because he was strong at the line, finding the holes and then burrowing ahead for a few yards at a time. His longest run, 41 yards, came late in the game. But he was a workhorse all night, and didn’t fumble, which for him was huge, after his problems earlier this season.

Key moment

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Brandon Boykin’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It gave Georgia a 14-3 lead, answering Kentucky’s first score, as the Bulldogs never trailed in the game. Boykin had seemed on the verge of breaking one this season, and he finally did so in the Bulldogs’ eighth game.

Key decision

Kentucky was without star tailback Derrick Locke, so Georgia’s defensive coaches opted to attack the pocket with their edge rushers. The result were a slew of fumbles, and a lot more pressure than Kentucky QB Mike Hartline was used to. Kentucky had yielded an SEC-low six sacks this season, but he went down twice in the first half.

Quote of the game

Four turnovers in the half. That’s hard to overcome for any defense. That will kill you. Our field position was tremendous. It’s hard to keep people out of the end zone when they have such a short field. It’s hard to start fast defensively when you have turnovers like that. We didn’t really drive the field until the second half. We only had 90 yards of offense in the second half.

— Georgia coach Mark Richt

By the numbers

133

Yards Georgia was outgained by Kentucky (423-290). But the four turnovers, and Boykin’s kick return, easily made up for that.

157

Georgia running back Washaun Ealey led the way with 157 yards rushing.

42.6

During its three-game winning streak, the Bulldogs are averaging 42.6 points per game.

About Jason Butt

Jason Butt joined The Telegraph after covering high school sports for The Washington Post. A 2009 University of Georgia graduate, he's also covered the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons for CBSSports.com.